A Leap in the Dark

"This book moves like a bottle rocket."--Kansas City Star "Every generation of Americans deserves a first-class history of the revolutionary era, and John Ferling has supplied it for this one. Those 2 million readers of David McCullough's John Adams, captivated by Adams's ardent patriotism and fiery opinions, will especially benefit from returning to the subject under the firm direction of a historian with a command of the scholarship that is matched by his gifts as a writer."--Joyce Appleby, Washington Post Book World "This deft account of the American struggle for independence dispels the aura of inevitability that usually surrounds such histories by beginning its narrative not on the verge of the Revolution but twenty years earlier....Ferling vividly evokes the political turmoil of the post-Revolutionary years. Even as he takes the Founders off their pedestals, their accomplishments only gain in stature."--The New Yorker "Solid history that will refresh anyone's memory of the essential stories and figures in America's founding. And it will enlighten anyone about the origin of some current civic problems....His book provides not just political and intellectual history, but emotional history as well."--Christian Science Monitor "The author's prose is smooth, but spellbinding. He brings to life the flinty, cross-grained Alexander Hamilton, the acute and enduring thoughts of John Adams, and some minor characters not found in most history books....Ferling has written several books on the Revolutionary period, but A Leap in the Dark may well be his masterpiece."--Dallas Morning News "Many Americans today see the period from 1754 to 1801 in American history as a rational progression from British colony to the independent United States. Nothing could be further from the truth, as shown by Ferling in this account of the Founding Fathers' struggles to do what had not been done before: create a nation. Throughout, he debunks popularly held notions....Ferling's intriguing narrative is filled with stories of Americans both famous and obsure."--Library Journal "In A Leap in the Dark, John Ferling conveys the personal and contingent character of public affairs by skillfully interweaving capsule biographies of leaders into his analysis of events. His book, which stretches from the French and Indian War through the inauguration of President Thomas Jefferson, supplies a learned and readable narrative of American politics during a crucial era in the nation's history."--Richard Brown, University of Connecticut "Questions about the establishment of the American Union are the focal point of this traditionally fashioned political history of Revolutionary America that moves gracefully from the period of the Seven Years' War through the presidential election of 1800. [Ferling] capably describesthe emergence of the newfound republican political order. Present[s] the various political achievements of the American Revolution in a highly engaging fashion, making for a study that deserves a large reading audience."--James Kirby Martin, The Historian, University of Houston